Disk-manipulating head for shuffleboards



June 1, 1 c. F. BENJAMIN DISK-MANIPULATING HEAD FOR SHUFFLEBOARDS Filed Feb. 5, 1952 III INVENTOR. ARE/WE BENJAM/N BY I Patented June 1, 1954 UNITED STATE PATENT OF'FI 'C E DISK-MANIPULATING HEAD FOR. SHUFFLEBOARDS.

Clarence F.,Benjamin, Tampa, Fla. ApplicationFeliruary 5, 1952, Serial No. 269,999.-

the. operation involved, one end of the handle. is.

placed in detachable engagement with the. disc astheshot is. made, the inertia. which is impart d,

to the disc causes it to move away from. that. end of the handle.

From the foregoing. it is apparent that. the

engagement of the handle end withthe disc beof. such a character as to. enable the player to.

exercise a required degree of control sov that a. shot. may be properly made. Because of this requirement, it has been the. practice to utilize a head, which issecured to. one end. of the handle and which head engages the discat points. that arespacedapart an appreciable distance.

The heads heretofore employed have been of the. forked type with each. head including two tips. which engage, the disc at spaced, points. Those old type heads have proven satisfactory soifarv as. making any one shot is concerned, but. due tc the fact that thetips engage thecement over which the disc slides, they quickly. wear down. and must bereplaced at frequent intervals.

With. the foregoing conditions in mind. the

present invention has in view as its foremost.

objective, the provision of; a new type of head for a shuttle board; handle which is characterized by the feature that during manipulation of the, disc, and the making of. a shot-,.the head is at; all. times, maintainedout' of; engagement.- with the cement...

Withsuch; frictional engagement eliminated, there.-

no reason why he: head should. wear. down. and it will last indefinitely:

Still anotherobject. of the invention is. to provide a. head. for a shuflle board handleo-f the. character indicated which includes. a, pair of tips thatv are. adapted to. engage the cylindrical edgeof. a; disc. at. spaced points together with a.

torwardly extendingpointed flange that is adapt.-

ed; toengage the. upper surface of the disc so. as tdmeintainall partsof the head out of engage-- ment with. the cement.

another obj ect of the invention: is to: D110.- vide a. head for ashufile. board. handle of the.

character indicated which. is: so. constructed as;

2. to, provide, a good; sight line that will enable the player to. achieve a high degree of accuracy in themaking. of a shot.

In. carrying o.ut these ideas in a practical emv bodimcnt, a head is provided which comprises a. main body portion defined by upper and lower surfaces, and. sides which converge towards a.

small end. which is formed with a socket which receives one end of, the handle. The end of. the main body portion is the widest part of the head. This end is. formed withinwardly inclined surfaces which meet at a central recess, andwhich. cooperates with the sides to define the two tips which engage, the disc.

The upper surface of the main body portionv is, continued forwardv to provide a forwardly extending pointed flange that. is adapted to engage the upper surface of' av disc. The top. surface of this flange and. the top surface of the main body portion are continuous, and are formed with a central ridge that extends from, the socket to thepointed. end. of the flange.

There is a slight decline. outwardly from each side of this central ridge.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a head. of the character indicated in which the undersurface or the outwardly ex.- tending flange is formed with a slight recess or depression which materially reduces the area.

of contact of this surface with the top of a.

shuffle, board disc.

Various other more. detailed objects. and ad'- vantages of the invention, such as arise in con.- nectionwith carrying, out the above noted ideas in. a. practical embodiment. will in part become. apparent and in part be hereinafter. stated, as.

a, handle, and a wide end formed with. inwardly inclined faces and a central recess with them.- wardlyfinclined faces. cooperating with. the sides to. define. tips. that are adapted to engage a shuflleboard disc at spaced. points.

The. upper surface of the main body portion. and. pointed; flange are formed with, a central ridge. extending fronr the socket to the point of.

the. flange, and.thistoprsurfaceis slightly inclined away. from thisridgeitowardseach.sided For a full andmore complete.- understanding.

of the invention, reference may be had to the following description and the accompanying drawing.

Figure l is a top plan view illustrating the head as applied to a disc with the handle broken away.

Figure 2 is a longitudinally vertical section through the head per se.. This view is taken about on the plane represented by the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view in side elevation of the handle, head, and disc, and illustrating the cement playing surface in section. In this view, one position of the head is illustrated in full lines, and another position by broken lines.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts, a disc such as used in the playing of outdoor shuffieboard is referred to in its entirety by the reference character D, and is shown as being formed with a cylindrical edge or wall It, a top surface I l, and a bottom surface [2. During the playing of the game, this bottom surface 12 will slide over a cement playing surface such as indicated at l3.

A. handle such as is commonly employed in the playing of outdoor shuffle board is indicated at H. The average length of such a handle is six feet, and it may be made of any appropriate material having the required properties of strength, rigidity, and lightness. One end of this handle is slightly tapered, as indicated at 15, whereby it is adapted to be received in a socket formed in a head. a

The new type head of this invention is referred to in its entirety by the reference character H. It may be made of appropriate material, although the invention has particularly in mind the use of a light wood which may be readily fashioned into the shape now to be described.

The head H comprises a main body portion B and a pointed flange F, which are integrally joined and formed from a single piece of material such as the wood above mentioned.

The main body portion 13 is defined by converging sides i and ii. These sides It and ii are substantially flat where they are more widely spaced apart. However, they are gradually rounded, with the degree of roundness increasing as the sides converge upwards a small end face l8. This end face 18 is formed with a socket [9 having a shape corresponding to the conical or tapered end [5 of the handle I4. This end 15 is received in the socket i9, and the attachment may be secured by the screw indicated at 20. The end of the main body portion B, between the wider ends of the sides It and I1, is formed with inwardly extending inclined faces 24 and 22. p The face 2| cooperates with the side l8 to form a tip 23, while the face 22 cooperates with the side I! to form a tip 24. During the playing of shuide board, these tips 23 and 24 engage the cylindrical wall of the disc D.

The faces 2i and 22 are of comparatively small extent, and between them, the bottom face of the main body portion B, which is presented at 25, is formed with a recess 26.

The pointed flange F is defined by sides 2? and 28 which converge and meet at a rounded nose, or point 25. This flange F is comparatively thin as compared to the main body portion B, and its upward surface constitutes a substantial continuation of the upper surface of the main body portion B. This upper surface is formed with a central ridge 3!! which extends from the point 291:0 the middle of the end face I8. The upper surface of the main body portion B and flange F is gradually inclined away from this central ridge 30 outwardly to each side.

The pointed flange F also includes a bottom surface 3! which is formed with a slight depression or recess which reduces the area of contact of this surface with the top face II of the disc D. In addition, the said bottom surface 3| of the flange F slopes downwardly in a rearward direction from the point 29 to the main body portion B, for the purpose to bedescribed below.

Operation While the manner in which the shufile board head above described functions is believed to be obviousfrom the illustration of the drawing, and the description of the parts given, it may be briefly outlined as follows:

The head H is first secured to the handle M by inserting the tapered end iii of the latter into the socket l9, and securing the attachment by threading home the screw 29.

A player now grasps the handle 14 in the usual manner and engages a disc D with the head H. As this engagement is effected, the tips 23 and 2 contact the cylindrical wall ii! while the lower surface iii of the flange F rests on the top face H of the disc D. The player may now manipulate the disc so as to move it into position for the making of a shot. As a shot is made, the handle .is lowered two or three inches. This movement will raise the pointed flange F sufliciently to free it of any contact with the top surface H. At this point in the making of a shot, the only real engagement between the head H and the disc D is at the tips 23 and 24. As the shot is made, the player utilizes the ridge 3!) as a sight line so as to achieve accuracy. Forward momentum is imparted to the disc D, and when forward motion of the head H is arrested, the disc will move away therefrom and travel over its intended path of movement.

The relative extent of the sides i5 and H of the main body portion B is of the utmost importance. Or, stating it in another way, the thickness of the main body portion B is an important part of this invention. The difference in thickness between the pointed flange F and the main body portion B should be less than the thickness of the disc D, because with this differential obtaining, the bottom surface 25 of the main body portion B will at all times be maintained out of engagement with the cement surface i3.

With such contact avoided, the head will not wear down during the manipulation of a disc or the making of a shot.

While the preferred specific embodiment of the invention is hereinbefore set forth, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact materials, constructions, and design illustrated and described, because various modifications of these details may be provided in putting the invention into practice within the purview of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a disc-manipulating head for a shuffie board handle, a main body portion formed with sides which converge toward a small end that is provided with a conical socket adapted to receive one end of a handle; said main body portion being formed with inwardly inclined faces at the end thereof remote from said socket, which faces 00- operate with said sides to form disc-engaging tips; and a forwardly extending flange integrally connected to said main body portion and sloping downwardly in a rearward direction from the forward-most point thereof to said main body portion.

2. In a disc-manipulating head for a shufiie board handle, a main body portion formed with sides which converge toward a small end that is provided with a conical socket adapted to receive one end of a handle; said main body portion being formed with inwardly inclined faces at the end thereof remote from said socket, which faces cooperate with said sides to form disc-engaging tips; and a forwardly extending flange integrally connected to said main body portion and sloping downwardly in a rearward direction from the forward-most point thereof to said main body portion, said flange having an undersurface formed with a slight depression to reduce surface contact thereof with a disc with which it is intended to engage.

3. In a disc-manipulating head for a shuflie board handle, a main body portion formed with sides which converge toward a small end that is provided with a conical socket adapted to receive one end of a handle; said main body portion being formed with inwardly inclined faces at the end thereof remote from said socket, which faces cooperate with said sides to form disc-engaging tips; and a forwardly extending pointed flange integrally connected to said main body portion and sloping downwardly in a rearward direction from the point thereof to said main body portion, said pointed flange having an undersurface formed with a slight upward depression to reduce surface contact thereof with a disc with which it is intended to engage; said main body portion and pointed flange having a continuous upper surface formed with a central up-raised sighting ridge extending from the socket end of said main body portion to the pointed end of said flange.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,895,393 Isbell Jan. 24, 1933 2,207,718 Cassidy July 16, 1940 2,225,241 Stearns Dec. 17, 1940 2,567,313 Bailey Sept. 11, 1951 

